First St Albans Literature Festival reveals line-up

The line-up for the inaugural St Albans Literature Festival, to take place from the 6th-9th November, will include Sir Terry Wogan and Jessie Burton,...

The line-up for the inaugural St Albans Literature Festival, to take place from the 6th-9th November, will include Sir Terry Wogan and Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist (Picador).

More than 60 authors will take part in the festival, which is presented by local newspaper the Herts Advertiser and sponsored by "book midwife", coach Mindy Gibbins-Klein.

Wogan will appear on the first day of the festival to talk about his new book, The Little Book of Common Sense... Or Pause for Thought with Wogan (Orion), which is published that day. BBC news presenter Martine Croxhall will also appear to host historical writers Leanda de Lisle and Conn Iggulden for a night exploring the Tudors at the 900 year-old St Albans Cathedral.

There will be women’s author workshops from authors including Rowan Coleman, Rachel Lucas and Gibbins-Klein. For children, there will be appearances from Carol Hedges, Tony Mitton and the festival’s children’s ambassador Jonathan Stroud. Other authors who are taking part in the four-day celebration include: Jessie Burton, James Runcie, Rachael Lucas, Dave Gibbons, Sarah Crossan;Rowan Coleman, and Lucy Saxon.

Matt Adams, festival director and editor of the Herts Advertiser, St Albans's local paper, says: "Story-telling is at the heart of St Albans's history. It is fitting to have a literary festival in this city of stories, and we are looking forward to welcoming locals and visitors alike to some of the city's great venues and public houses to celebrate literature of all sorts."

Festival director Claire Walsh added: "The line-up this year is starting to look absolutely amazing, I'm thrilled that our first festival has attracted so many great speakers. There really is something for everyone from chick-lit to historical fiction events, creative writing and travel journalism workshops and so much more."